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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers vs. Mallards Game Day Snap Shot, March 10

March 10, 2017 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Nailers vs. Mallards Game Day Snap Shot

Wheeling Nailers (28-23-6-0, 62 Pts.) vs. Quad City Mallards (32-22-1-2, 67 Pts.)

WHEELING NAILERS

(28-23-6-0, 62 PTS, 5th North, 10th East)

191 GF, 181 GA

PP: 20.0% (54-for-270), 8th

PK: 75.0% (174-for-232), 27th

26-D-Kevin Schulze (9 goals, 39 assists, 48 points in 53 games)

8-F-Nick Sorkin (13 goals, 31 assists, 44 points in 45 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (25 goals, 18 assists, 43 points in 56 games)

23-F-Garrett Meurs (21 goals, 21 assists, 42 points in 56 games)

17-F-Jordan Kwas (19 goals, 22 assists, 41 points in 53 games)

14-F-Tyler Currier (12 goals, 23 assists, 35 points in 58 games)

29-G-Sean Maguire (10-11-3 record, 3.12 GAA, .900 Sv% in 25 games)

QUAD CITY MALLARDS

(32-22-1-2, 67 PTS, 3rd Central, 6th West)

179 GF, 170 GA

PP: 13.0% (26-for-200), 25th

PK: 82.3% (158-for-192), 15th

19-F-Josh MacDonald (23 goals, 26 assists, 49 points in 57 games)

12-F-Chris Francis (21 goals, 24 assists, 45 points in 48 games)

15-F-Michael Parks (21 goals, 21 assists, 42 points in 46 games)

11-F-Sam Warning (16 goals, 26 assists, 42 points in 53 games)

10-F-Justin Kovacs (13 goals, 29 assists, 42 points in 55 games)

23-D-Kevin Gibson (2 goals, 21 assists, 23 points in 49 games)

31-G-Adam Vay (15-12-2 record, 3.09 GAA, .896 Sv% in 29 games)

Head to Head

Season Series: Nailers 3, Mallards 0

Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 1, Mallards 0

All-Time Series: Nailers 5, Mallards 1

All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 2, Mallards 0

The Comeback Komets

The Wheeling Nailers fell victim to the Fort Wayne Komets three times during their recent seven-game road trip, and in all three setbacks, Fort Wayne rallied back from a deficit, before prevailing with the victory. In Sunday's finale, the lead was small, as the goaltending of Sean Maguire and Pat Nagle stole the show. Neither netminder surrendered a goal in the first 32 minutes of play, until a red light was finally turned on at the 12:18 mark of the second period. Cody Wydo chipped a pass ahead to Gage Quinney, who showed off some unbelievable puckhandling skills, as he wheeled through the defense, then faked out the goaltender. The Komets pulled even later in the stanza, when Brett Perlini banged in a cross-ice feed from Mike Cazzola on the right side of the crease. During the opening minute of the third period, Fort Wayne went ahead with a power play goal by Cazzola from the right dot. Despite 13 shots in the third period, the Nailers were unable to pot an equalizer, as they fell 2-1. Nagle made 29 saves in the win, while Maguire turned away 41, suffering the difficult defeat.

Leaving the Fuel Gassed

The Quad City Mallards have caught a bit of a break in their schedule, as they have taken the ice once in the past eight days. That game took place on Saturday night, when they welcomed the last place Indy Fuel into iWireless Center. Indy opened the scoring 1:32 into the contest on a goal by Nick Bligh, but the remainder of the celebrations went the way of the home squad. Chris Francis and Josh MacDonald lit the lamp in the latter stages of the first period, giving the Mallards the lead. The affair began to take a more one-sided look in the middle frame, as Chase Lang, Brady Brassart, and Grant Arnold extended the lead to 5-1. Lang's second of the evening capped off the scoring in the third period in the 6-1 beat down. Adam Vay earned the win in goal for Quad City, making 26 saves on 27 shots, while Eric Levine was under siege for the Fuel, giving up six goals on 42 shots.

Happy to be Home

WesBanco Arena will open its doors for a Nailers home game for the first time since February 18th, when Wheeling finished off a 2-1-0 homestand with a 5-4 triumph over the Kalamazoo Wings. Since then, sledding has been a bit rough for the Nailers, who went 1-5-1 on their seven-game road trip. Despite the frustrating record, Wheeling didn't lose much ground in the North Division Standings, as it began the trip three points out of a playoff spot, and is currently six points back of fourth place in the grouping. Home ice has treated the Nailers extremely well this season, as the team has gone 17-6-4 in front of the local fanbase, and nine of the final 15 regular season home games will take place in the Friendly City. The six regulation losses are tied for the fourth fewest in the ECHL. Quad City is one of seven teams in the league with more wins on the road than at home, as the Mallards enter the weekend with a 17-12-0 mark away from Northwest Illinois.

The Deadline has Passed

The ECHL Trade Deadline took place on Thursday afternoon, and the Nailers were active right up until the final buzzer, as they acquired forward Mitch Holmberg from the Colorado Eagles and forward Kale Kerbashian from the Allen Americans. Holmberg is expected to make his Wheeling debut on Friday night, as he will suit up for his third team this season and the fifth of his ECHL career. Mitch has posted 11 goals, eight assists, and 19 points in 41 games thus far this season, and was part of Colorado's 17-game winning streak. The Nailers have had 13 players involved in trades this season. The Mallards were on the quiet side of things as the deadline drew near, but they made two moves well before crunch time, adding a forward and a defenseman to their lineup. The forward is Quad City's new leading scorer, Josh MacDonald, who has piled up 49 points in 57 games between the Mallards and Rapid City Rush. The defenseman is Alexander Kuqali, who has 12 assists in 48 games between Quad City and Florida. Alexander is the younger brother of former Wheeling blueliner Nicholas Kuqali.

First Return Trip

Friday night marks the fourth of five head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Mallards this season, as well as the second of three battles at WesBanco Arena. In the two years that the clubs have played each other, there has never been a return trip to a city in the same season, as Wheeling has gone to Moline once each year (two games each), and Quad City visited West Virginia once last season. The Nailers have gotten the upper hand on the Mallards, but with the exception of one clash, all of the games have been close. Wheeling swept a two-game series at iWireless Center in November, taking each decision, 3-2. Then, in late January, the Nailers rallied back from a 2-0 deficit with five straight goals for a 5-2 triumph. Wheeling has won five of the six historical contests, including both on home ice. Cody Wydo is the leading scorer in the 2016-17 season series, as he has three goals, two assists, and five points in the three games. Wheeling has clinched the season set for the second year in a row, with the last game taking place on Saturday.

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